When Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was in New York City to speak to the United Nations, he was surrounded by all sorts of hangers-on, except one. Ahmadinejad wanted Michael Moore to have breakfast with him. Calls were made, but unsuccessfully. Perhaps Mahmoud wants Moore to direct a sequel to “Fahrenheit 911″ –Ã‚Â in the literal sense, once Israel cools to 911 degreesÃ‚Â Fahrenheit,Ã‚Â a month after he nukes it.

Something occurred to me this morning. I was thinking about all the buzz surrounding Ahmadinejad’s visit (as well as that of Hugo Chavez) and all the friends he has in the United States. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a man who thinks Israel should be wiped from the map,Ã‚Â denies the holocaust ever happenedÃ‚Â and wants the “Islamic revolution”Ã‚Â to overtake the entire world.

Why do so many Americans cling to this guy? I think it’s as simple as this: Many people think that if they simply suck up to despots, that said despot will leave them alone, and, ultimately, want to help us because we’re so nice and benign. A good example of who possesses this powder-puff philosophy would be Jimmy Carter.

You’ve entered… The Twilight Zone

There’s an episode of The Twilight Zone featuring extraterrestrials who come to Earth and want people to go back to their planet with them. Earthlings see a bookÃ‚Â written inÃ‚Â a strange language, which isÃ‚Â later decipheredÃ‚Â to reveal the titleÃ‚Â ”To serve man.”Ã‚Â Earthlings simply figure thatÃ‚Â it’s the aim of theÃ‚Â aliensÃ‚Â to exist to be at their beck and call, and line up to get on their spaceship for a ride to the aliens’ home planet.

After they’re all aboard and the ship is departing, we realizeÃ‚Â that “To serve man” is a cookbook.

A similar fate awaitsÃ‚Â us if we all fallÃ‚Â for the dressed-up dumbed-downÃ‚Â rhetoric of dictators, despots and tinpot wingnuts.